Method of manufacturing unitary multiple connections



Dec. 30, 1947. E. s. MCLARN; 2,433,334

METHOD OF MANUFACTURING UNITARY MULTIPLE CONNECTIONS Filed Nov. 5, 1942 Y INVENTOR. ERNEST 5. v smR/v ATTORNEY Patented Dec. 30, 1947 METHOD OF MANUFACTURING UNITARY MULTIPLE CONNECTIONS Ernest S. McLarn, Manhasset, N. Y., assignor to Internat onal Standard El ctric Corporation, New York, N. Y., a corporation of Delaware Application November 5, 1942, Serial No. 464,618

6 Claims.

This invention relates to methods for the manufacture of unitary multiple connections for use in connector blocks for telephone subsets and the like.

Sub-panels for telephone equipment and other electrical devices often comprise a considerable number of terminal studs between which the required connections are made by soldered wire. When many units of the same kind are manufactured, it has been found that the many soldered connections required slow up production and are unnecessarily expensive.

Accordingly, the present invention has for its object the provision of a novel interconnecting arrangement by which a number of terminals may be quickly and cheaply interconnected.

Another object is the provision of a connector sheet by which multiple connections can be made quickly with no chance of error.

Still another object is the provision of a connector sheet which can be manufactured at low cost by an electro-plating operation.

Other objects of the invention will appear in the following description given with the aid of the accompanying drawings in which:

Fig. 1 shows a plan view of the invention while Figs. 2, 3, 4, and show edge views of difierent modifications of the invention partly in section, Fig. 2 being taken through 2--2 of Fig. 1.

In carrying out the invention, a rubber stamp, printing plate, or the like is made conforming to the configuration of the desired connections. A suitable conducting ink is used with the stamp so that when the stamp is printed on paper card or the like, the card will receive a conducting coating of ink which is a facsimile of the desired connections. It will be understood that the card is treated 50 that it will not absorb or be affected by an electro-plating solution. Between each of the respective inked areas which are subsequently to form connections, there is made a further inked strip for the purpose of connecting all of the inked areas to each other, so that all will be included in a circuit whereby all inked areas may receive together a metal coating in an electroplating process.

Other inked areas which are undesired in the final product consist of inked sections extending from the inked configuration of the connections to the edge of the card. These sections are der signed to be gripped by suitable clips or other connecting means associated with a source of electro-plating potential.

The card is then immersed in a plating bath in which the inked areas receive a deposit of the plating metal of a few mills or more thick which will constitute the connections for the finished product. The sheet of plated material is then removed from the bath and washed thoroughly with water or some other cleaning agent and is then put into a suitable apparatus where holes are punched out of the plated connections for receiving eyelets, binding screws, terminal lugs or the like and preferably during the same operation, the undesired interconnections between normally independent circuits are severed by being punched out, as are the circuits leading to the edge of the sheet, thus leaving only desired conducting strips on the card. The sheet of insulating material with the independent conducting strips thereon is preferably used as a unit and positioned on a connecting block with the terminals extending through the punched holes. Connection may be made in any suitable manner, for example by a simultaneous welding process. such as the shot process in which a condenser discharge is used for the welding operation. or by soldering. or eyelets may be inserted in desired locations and connection established by screws and nuts.

Referring now to Fig. 1 of the drawing which shows in plan view a multiple terminal connection in simplified form according to present invention: A card 9 of water proof insulating material is shown with two conducting strips [9 and H formed thereon by a plating process. The strips have enlarged end sections [2, I3 and M, I5 and are connected by a short connecting member l6 which will be severed after the plating operation by a hole I! punched through the card. On two ed es of the card are plated areas I8 and [9 which before the plating operation were inked to provide a connection to an electro-plating circuit not shown. The connections between l2 and I8 and I5 and I!) are severed during the punching operation by perforations 20 and 2 i.

In one modification of the invention members ll and I2 are perforated for terminal lugs after the plating operation by a punching device wh ch produces serrated openings 22 preferably of such size that the teeth are bent upwards by the insertion of a terminal lug into an opening to provide greater contact area.

If the connection device is to be placed over terminal lugs with the plated surface on the upper side of the card as shown in Fig. 2, the edges of card 9 in the area adjacent to the teeth, unless first cut away will be in contact with the surface of the connecting lug. In case the paper edges adjacent to the teeth are not removed solder may be used for connecting the metal surface to the terminal lugs, suflicient solder being used to bridge the space occupied by the paper backing of the teeth. If the paper is removed near the points of the teeth permitting a metal to metal contact,

then connection may be made by welding or soldering.

When the metal coated surface is placed adjacent to the surface from which the terminal lugs protrude, and only one side is coated, the metal surface of the serrations make contact with the surface of the terminal lugs and may be soldered or welded thereto, any suitable means being provided to connect the welding current to the connecting strips, and a suitable fixture is preferably provided for connecting the opposite pole of the welding current to the terminal lugs.

The serrated openings may be punched through the card prior to the inking operation, in which case sufficient ink is used so that a certain amount of the ink flows downward over the teeth and openings 22, with the result that the edges as well as the surface adjacent to the teeth is completely inked. This arrangement is shown in Figs. 3 and 4 in which the electro-plated coating 25 is shown in Fig. 3, deposited on a card 26 and at 27 the metal coating is shown formed on the edge portion of the teeth of opening 22. In Fig. 4, the metal coating 39 is shown deposited on the under surface of a card 3| in which the hole 22 was pro-punched so that a metal covering is formed on the edges '32 of the teeth which are shown bent up in contact with a terminal lug 33. Here also the terminalstrip maybe connected to the terminal lug by soldering or welding. In Fig. an embodiment of the invention is shown in which inked impressions of the multiple connection are made on opposite sides of card 40 in register with each other and in which holes 4| are prepunched before the inking operation thus connecting the faces of the card by excess ink which flows over the edges of the serrations in hole 4|. It will be understood that two separate stamps or printing plates will be requiredsince one stamp must make an impression which is the reverse or a mirror image of the other. 'In this embodiment, an upper plated surface 42 and a lower plated surface 43 are formed. This arrangement may be connected to terminals by welding or soldering.

It will be understood that the holes punched through the connecting strips for connecting pm: poses may be round or of any other confi uration depending on requirements, and if preferred pro" porticned so that theopenings are not distorted but remain fiat when a terminal member is inserted therein, and that any suitable connecting arrangement other than those mentioned in the above description may be used.

What I claim is:

1. The method of manufacturing unitary mule tiple connections comprising the steps of printing with a conducting ink on a noneconducting sheet of a facsimile consisting of areas presenting the multiple connections and of areas presenting interconnections between each pair of connections and between at least one of said connections and the edge of the non-conducting sheet, then electr -p at the inked areas of said sheet, the second mentioned areasbeing adapted to provide electrical series connection for all of said multiple connections during the electro-plating step, severing said inter-connections thereby disconnect,- ing electrically each of said multiple connections from the other connections, and punching holes in the said first-mentionedareas to receive terminals external to the sheet.

2,- e m od of nu ac r n unitarymu tiple connections comprising the steps of prints ing with a conducting ink on a non-conducting sheet a facsimile consisting of areas presenting the multiple connections and of areas presenting interconnections between each pair of connecinked impressions on opposite surtions and between at least one of said connections and the edge of the non-conducting sheet, then electro-plating the inked areas of said sheet, the second mentioned areas being adapted to provide electrical series connection for all of said multi- :ple connections during the electro-plating step,

severing said inter-connections thereb disconnecting electrically each of the said multiple connections from the other connections, and punching holes in the connections formed on the sheet positioned to receive terminals external to the sheet.

3. The method of manufacturing unitary multiple connections according to claim 2 in which the severing of the interconnections and the punching of the holes for terminals are performed during the same operation/ 4. The method of manufacturing unitary multiple connections as set forth in claim 1, comprising punching said holes in the sheet positioned to receive terminals before the printing step, whereby ink flows over the edges of said holes during the printing operation thus causing a deposit of metal around the inner surface of said holes during the electro-plating operation.

5. A method of manufacturing unitary multiple connections according to claim 1 in which holes positioned to receive terminals are punched in said sheet before the printing operation, and in which facsimiles in register with each other are printed on opposite surfaces of said sheet, whereby the inked areas on the opposite surfaces of said sheet are interconnected by ink flowing over the edges of said holes and receive a metallic coating during the electro-plating process.

6. A method according to claim 1 in which serrated holes positioned to receive terminals external to said sheet are punched in said sheet prior to said printing operation whereby the edges of said serrations are inked by excess ink flowing thereover when the printing operation takes place, said edges thus receiving a metallic coating during the plating operation, and wherein the opening between the points of said teeth is less than the diameter of connecting lugs to be inserted therein whereby said teeth of the respective holes are bent from the plane of said sheet when the connecting lugs are inserted therein.

ERNEST S. MCLARN.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS 

